Black Feather
by MintChocolateLeaves
Summary: Kuroba Kaito has a plan. Find the people responsible for his father's death, branded within the magic community as a traitor, and make them pay. There's just some things he needs to do first. (Set in the HP-Verse) Slowburn KaiShin.
1. Chapter 1

_Notes: This AU is a collab with the artist Bakathief on tumblr! She draws art for the AU and I write for it. Hopefully you'll enjoy this as much as we do._

 _Summary:_ _Kuroba Kaito has a plan. Find the people responsible for his father's death, branded within the magic community as a traitor, and make them pay. There's just some things he needs to do first. Slowburn KaiShin._

* * *

The interrogation room is bland.

For a room filled with magic users, Kaito is almost insulted with how utterly _mundane_ it is. There's a table, three chairs and four walls that have been painted grey. It feels almost like he's stepped into an old detective movie because everything is monochrome. One of the walls, he knows is charmed so that people can listen in to higher profile cases, but Kaito's doubtful it'll be used for him.

"You understand why you're here, right?" It's a younger man asking the questions – someone Kaito knows the name of, but can't quite recall. They've met somewhere, then, but it's practically impossible to drag the memory back quite so suddenly.

Two aurors – the magical equivalent of a detectives – sit opposite him on the desk, staring him down. They both wear white shirts and coloured ties. The younger has a red tie, a lower rank within the force, whereas the older man wears a blue tie. His superior then.

"Actually," Kaito says, leaning back in his chair, "I don't have the faintest clue."

The look he receives echoes the room. It's almost surprising how unruffled both men seem, how bored they seem by him. It bothers him, a little, mainly because people shouldn't be bored to see him. Kaito is nothing, if not an entertainer.

Kaito tears his gaze away from the aurors, surveys the room a second time. It's like the other interrogation rooms he's been in before. Except, well, he's not done anything worth being arrested, not in Japan, anyway.

"You were caught using a prohibited item," the younger auror says, and Kaito really is sure they've met somewhere before. They seem roughly the same age, so maybe... they both attended Japan's magic academy at roughly the same time? That must be it, the auror is from Tokyo. "This prohibited item, in fact."

He places a small cylinder onto the table between them. It's something Kaito's been working on for a while, in his attempt to blend magic and tools together. There's a button on the top that when pressed, releases a small spray from the middle, along with a small flash of light.

"I didn't know it was prohibited," Kaito says.

He's not lying – he's spent the past few years abroad, travelling between Europe and North America. Their rules, while strict hadn't included prohibition of any of the ingredients he'd used to create the spray. Or rather, he'd not been caught for them.

"We tested the spray," the younger auror continues – and, Kaito thinks it's strange that he's taking control, maybe he's being tested by his superior? "And it's got trace elements of veritaserum in it. Meaning this, is illegal in Japan."

Kaito leans back. Adding a truth serum into his tool, making it possible to compel people for a few seconds to speak the truth, without the common side effects had been a good idea. And well... he'd not thought it would be illegal after he'd altered it to have no risks at all.

Frankly, they should be thanking him for the practical applications, he reckons it's going to be a massive breakthrough within the magical community, whenever she gets there. Stretching one of his legs out from beneath the table though, Kaito decides that he should probably avoid any arrogant comments whilst in the room.

Modest then, he decides, trying to decide on the facade that will get him freed most quickly.

"I've not been in the country for a few years," _truth,_ "I didn't know it was banned here." _Eh – technically true._

The younger auror blinks, almost shocked at the honest tone Kaito seems to project. It's not alarming to see his reaction, most people tend to react to him with preconceived beliefs that he constantly has to change when they're fully introduced. It's the pain of having the Kuroba name, he supposes.

"You've been arrested in multiple countries across Europe and Northern America," the older auror cuts in. He's more experienced, sure, but he also seems to lack seriousness. Kaito remembers him at least, having memorised _'necessary'_ faces from social functions and the auror task force. _Mouri Kogoro._

"You read my file?" Kaito asks. It's not shocking, although he's surprised they've gotten the files seeing as Japan holds very few extradition treaties, especially when it comes to European countries. He shakes his head, "Well, if you've read it, then you've seen that each arrest has been a big misunderstanding."

Mouri crosses his arms, stares down the bridge of his nose at him. There's gel in his hair, not a lot, but enough that it reflects the light – not blindingly so, but enough that it makes him look slightly ridiculous. He says, "that's seems like a lot of misunderstandings to have."

Kaito leans forward, clasps his hands together. He has to resist the urge to snap his fingers and say _'exactly, isn't it terrible being me?'_ and tries to look slightly helpless instead. Shrugging his shoulders, he lets out a sigh, exasperated.

"Most ' _misunderstandings'_ ," he uses his fingers to create air quotes, "only happen because people hear my surname and realise I'm from _that_ bloodline."

The younger auror stiffens. Kaito supposes it's because he's grown up around the rumours of the Kuroba's and the way they'd proven their names correct by staining everything associated with them black. As the family name suggests, they really do have black feathers.

"Kuroba Kaito," the younger auror says, "son of the traitor Kuroba Toichi?"

It's like a shard of glass is being pierced into his abdomen, plunging deeper into his flesh, setting every one of his synapses on fire. Every time someone talks about his father like they know, _like they have some sort of understanding of what happened fifteen years ago_ , it drives him insane.

His responding smile is sardonic – self-deprecating.

"That's me," he says. Then, after a pause - "I know you from somewhere... Did you attend Mahoutokoro? I think I remember seeing you in the halls."

He responds with a sharp nod, "I was part of the 1913 class. Kudo Shinichi."

Ah. That's where Kaito knows him from. He'd been a year below Kaito in school – he can still remember the rumours when seven-year old Kudo had enrolled with the other first years, easily raising to the top of the class despite not having a drop of magical purity in his veins.

The rumours about him had faded months later however, when they'd turned on Kaito and the fact that his father had _'turned white',_ the cuffs indicating that he'd committed treason against Japan.

"Let's get back to business," Mouri huffs, tapping his fingers against the table. He's been tapping the entire time, against his trouser pockets – that combined with the slight yellowing of his skin around his finger nails shows that he's a chain smoker. "Most of the charges were minute things, but this one."

Mouri withdraws his wand, flicking his wrist. A file appears on the table, summoned from what Kaito can only assume is a file room within the ministry building.

"You were arrested in England under the suspicion that you'd stolen the Chalmer's Topaz." Mouri says, as Kaito opens the file, glancing over a case he'd already been a part of once, months ago. "The arrest was made by a Hakuba Saguru?"

Kaito crosses his arms. "I worked with Hakuba, rather unwillingly, to help him find that stone. And when it was found, _I was acquitted."_

Kudo shrugs his shoulders, as if the acquittal isn't the main thing here. Maybe it's not, maybe there's some other link that Kaito doesn't know about. There's no point worrying about it now.

"The Chalmer's Topaz was stolen shortly after it was received by you and Auror Hakuba." Kudo says – which, _duh,_ anyone who was in England at the time would have known that. It's hardly surprising, even if Kaito was readying to board a boat into mainland Europe. "The gemstone was stolen by a thief naming himself as KID. It was then returned roughly three days later."

"I'm sorry," Kaito says, "but I don't see what this has to do with my bringing a prohibited item into Japan. Shouldn't I just receive a fine and have it confiscated?"

A sigh – there's nothing they can do to link him with the KID case, Kaito knows. He's read up on enough law to have a basic understanding of how interrogations and arrests can work. Plus, he's pretty certain he can't be tried for the same crime twice – and even if it were possible, the Japanese ministry can't charge him for it.

"I suppose you're right," Mouri says, standing. "We'll check out that fine, and then you'll be able to go. You can come with us."

Kaito follows them from the interrogation room, up some stairs to the main offices. Inside, Aurors move fluidly, connecting incidents and researching cases. One of them looks up as they walk in, raises a hand in a wave. Kudo in response waves back, although it's a smaller movement, more confined.

"While you were in the interrogation room," Kudo says, "we verified the spells you've used on your wand. Basic protocol, to make sure no illegal spells have been used within your time in Japan."

 _Or in general,_ Kaito thinks. He supposes he should be angry about the invasion of his privacy, but frankly, it's not like they'll find that he's used any suspicious spells. Even if they do suspect him of doing something illegal – a likely cognition, seeing as people always suspect the Kuroba's these days – they won't be able to prove it.

It's simpler to own two wands, than to try and mask the spells he uses on a single wand. It's why when they'd confiscated his _Kaito_ wand he hadn't been worried about the aurors analysing it. If they'd taken his _KID_ wand though...

Luckily, they'd not retrieved it from his person. And as such, he's not got to worry about.

Minutes later, he leaves the ministry building behind, skipping down steps without much of a care for anything. It'll cost him, trying to replace the main ingredient in the spray, but he's certain that he'll figure out a way to invent his way around the prohibited items.

In fact – now that Kaito knows the spray works, there's no need to continue working on it. The thieves he'd used it on before he'd been arrested, forcing them to tell the truth to the shop keeper hadn't shown any negative effects at all. Adding that to his previous subjects abroad...

Kaito nods his head. It's one project that's completed then.

That's one down at least – he can move on to other pressing inventions.

Like finding a way to infuse dragon blood into healing potions, and avoiding the scalding heat that comes with it, killing people from the inside. The healing properties of dragons mixed into a herbal potion would heal wounds from curses and dark magic much quicker than the standard spells he'd been taught in school...

(It's not like he can go to hospitals following his plights as KID... So Kaito knows he needs to figure out something else.)

Like figuring out the wavelength that ghosts are on, so he can imitate it with a spell and get in and out of buildings without having to worry about locked rooms.

Projects that will lead him closer to avenging his fathers death, to figuring the real traitor within the ministry.

"I need to find some dragons."


	2. Chapter 2

Notes: Wow. That took me a while to continue writing, didn't it? Well - finally I've got the next chapter. Lets hope for a more consistent update schedule, yes? I hope you enjoy, and thanks for the previous feedback! x

* * *

Dragons.

When he'd been a child, Kaito had been obsessed with them. His father had taken him to see them at mount Fuji once, the only dragon reserve in Japan, back before Kaito had attended wizarding school. There, Kaito had seen the Ukrainian Ironbellies, with their metallic scales reflecting the sun's light, red eyes staring down at him.

He'd seen a few Antipodean Opaleye's as well, from where they'd migrated from New Zealand, never really flying back overseas after the winter had ended. Their multicoloured eyes had been beautiful, had stolen his breath, but they'd never been his favourite.

No – Kaito had always loved the Ukrainian Ironbellies the most. Had wanted to _breed them,_ wanted to tame them and spend every passing moment with them as loving friends.

Then his father had been killed, burnt alive by the Japanese ministry in response to his 'treason', and Kaito hadn't been able to bring himself to go near things that could create fire so easily.

"I've not been near dragon's since back then," Kaito says now, to himself, tapping against his trousers. His voice sounds almost wistful, as if he realises just how much of a shame it is. "I guess we'll just have to change that then."

He'll have to apparate to Mt. Fuji. And make his way up to the reserve. From what quick research he'd managed to do before the Aurors had come to arrest him, the reserve is currently home to roughly forty dragons.

Over half are Ukrainian, the breed that he's searching for.

Now, he just needs to apparate there, grab a sample of blood without injuring the beasts. Or getting killed in the process. God, Kaito's already excited at the concept of this. Dragons bring a spark of life to him that leave him feeling giddy.

He just wishes he could find some unknown properties to them that could help him during his heists. Dragon blood, for one, is highly volatile, and he could use it for offensive potions. It's also got medicinal properties, except no one's found a way yet to harness it for human biology without it burning people alive.

Well, that's what experimentation is for, Kaito supposes.

"Okay," Kaito says, nodding his head. "To Mt. Fuji."

Apparating isn't necessarily difficult. Kaito had gotten his license shortly after finishing school, just before he'd gone travelling. The spell isn't difficult, nor is the wand incantation.

It's just getting to the right _place_ that's the issue.

There's only so far the spell will work, for one. Most transport spells only work within the confines of a single country. Portkeys are necessary for travelling abroad, things that Kaito's had to pay out a lot of money for during his travels.

Maybe he should invest in a few self-taught lessons on how to make them? It might help him with KID related jobs.

"Stop," Kaito says to himself. "Dragons first."

Apparating takes effort to get where one wants to go, mainly because it requires visualising the area that's required to travel to. Kaito would be able to travel to his family home without an issue, because he can remember the room's layout, the dimensions of where he wants to go.

But going somewhere he's never been before? Or worse, somewhere he can hardly remember – a layout that has probably changed since then?

That's how patients wind up in hospital with splinching injuries from the spell. There's an element of danger that not everyone is willing to risk. Kaito knows he could just as easily travel through fireplaces, with floo-powder, but that method of transport is a lot more traceable.

Even though his wand will register the fact that he's travelled somewhere, it won't be able to direct to anyone who investigates him, _where exactly he's gone._

Which is probably for the best, because people asking him questions about dragons is not something he typically enjoys.

He really needs to hurry up and find some dragons though, because just standing outside of the Japanese ministry of magic is gaining him _quite_ a few looks.

* * *

Mt. Fuji: Realm of dragons.

Kaito is practically breathless as he glances around. Most of the Ironbellies will be inside of the mountain, living in caves that are charmed to go overlooked by those who aren't looking closely enough.

The Opaleye's are probably down by the lake nearby the mountain, lapping up water. The dragon tamers that preserve the safety of the sanctuary, use cloaking magic to keep the dragons out of view of those who aren't wizards. Keeping the dragons safe from those who're likely to attack that of which they don't understand.

There are probably alarms fitted around the caves for the Ironbellies, to keep those with harmful intent away from the dragons, but Kaito's pretty sure he can get through.

His hand reaches in to his pocket, a hidden sleeve obscured by the heaviest illusion spell he's ever had the pleasure to create, pulling out his second wand.

It's a taboo, Kaito knows, owning multiple wands. But it's easier in the long run, with his extracurricular activities, so he doesn't really fret too much about it.

"Okay," Kaito says, "let's send out a quick tracking spell. _Revelare."_

He flicks his wrist upwards twice, and then downwards. It sends a small pulse through his wand, and down into the ground, creating small spider's veins in the earth, blooming outwards in search for any hidden spells.

It reveals two. Both are entries to caves, except at first glance, the one nearest to him is too thin to be the nest of an Ironbelly. No, Kaito's going to have to go to the next one then, if he wants to produce good results, then he's just going to have to put in the work.

"Okay," Kaito says to himself as he looks at the second cave. It's bigger. The entrance is probably the width of two fully grown dragons. It should make for the perfect nest.

Now, he just needs to search for any alarms.

There are two. The first is easy, just a simple spell measuring the heat that passes across it. Dragons are cold blooded after all, so only mammals – like _wizards –_ will set it off. Kaito applies a small cloaking spell to himself, something that lowers his external temperature enough to go untraced and heads inside.

The moment he is past, Kaito casts a dull _Lumos_ with his Kaito-wand, keeping his KID wand out for use against the second alarm. It's not something that's easily seen, and Kaito strains himself to find it, but he does.

It measures the magic of a person – of course it does. Wizards can get past the cloaking spell into the caves if they want, and anyone _competent_ at magic can also use a cloaking spell of their own to get past the heat measures.

But this. A spell recording just how much magic is filled in a person's blood. It's going to be high in comparison to a dragon's, something that's going to cause alarms to go off.

And trying to cloak the magic? Well, that only causes the introduction of more magic to a person's surroundings, triggering the alarm even quicker.

Well, Kaito thinks. Maybe there isn't exactly a way past this alarm. He's probably just going to have to risk it, and make sure he apparates away before anyone comes looking for him.

That's alright, he supposes. He just needs to force himself to work quickly. And Kaito's always been efficient, so he knows he can work that angle. Probably.

Well there's no problem in trying, right?

Kaito steps past the alarm, wonders how long he's got to figure things out, and makes his way further into the cave. There are two dragons inside. One older dragon, and one hatchling.

The hatchling is the one which Kaito immediately decides he can go nowhere near. Dragons might not be highly territorial in the same way as Centaurs are, but they _are_ highly protective of their young.

Trying to draw blood from one of their young – even if he's not harming them – would be like stepping on a live wire, waiting to be ripped apart by a stray _reicio_ spell. No, he'll have to go to the mother, which, is definitely also risky but not nearly as immediate in its danger.

He heads forward. The older Ironbelly is curled in on itself, a watchful eye glancing between it's child and towards the end of its tail where there's-

Fuck. How are people here already? Surely the alarm hadn't sounded so quickly. Kaito quickly pockets his wands, tries to seem as unassuming as possible.

She looks up at the sound of his footsteps scuffing out.

"What're you doin' here?"

The woman pales almost, to see him stood in the middle of a dragon's nest. Understandable really, most people don't show up alone to see dragons without the degree of safety the dragon tamers in the reserve can offer.

"Oh," Kaito says, by way of introduction. "I… seem to have gotten a little lost?"

He receives a look that could not be any more displeased. The woman's pretty – with bright eyes and an ivory complexion. Her hair is pulled back into ribbons, and she wears the bright, golden robes of a dragon tamer, with shimmering bangles down her wrist.

"I'm sorry," she says, "but I don't think I believe you. There are alarms to keep people from getting lost in areas like this."

Kaito takes a few steps nearer, glancing between the woman and the dragon. He meets the Ironbelly's gaze, watching and waiting for any signs of aggravation. They're not the most volatile of dragons, but Kaito knows enough about living things to know that they can be cruel on their own volition.

"Right," Kaito says, "isn't that why you're here? Because I set off the alarms?"

She shakes her head, stands from where she'd previously been sat down. "Of course not! I'm just here for th' maintenance of th' dragons that have recently had their eggs hatch!"

Dragon eggs? God, Kaito hadn't thought of the properties of their eggs. If they've recently cracked open, then surely, he can grab the shells – Dragon eggs are practically impossible to crack open. The defensive elements that he could gain if he could experiment with the empty shells…

"I see," Kaito says, and now, he makes his way towards her, offering what he hopes is his most charming smile. "How exactly does a person maintain a dragon?"

He comes to a stop beside her, glancing at the tail of the dragon. Now that he's nearer, he can see the Ironbelly's scales are jagged instead of the smooth they should be. It seems almost unnatural.

"When dragons are readyin' to have their hatchlings," the woman whispers, "they grow more scales, as a defence tha' will keep their children safe if attacked by other dragons. But this dragon has laid a lot of eggs this year, an' has grown too many new scales that it's causing her pain."

"So you're removing the excess dragon scales." Kaito says. He leans down, and sure enough – there in a small pile, are shimmering scales of metal, things that would cost him thousands to buy in the back alleys of Tokyo's magic industry.

Here… well, Kaito could just take them, obliviate the woman and no one would ever know.

"Exactly," she continues, and almost as if she's not worried by his presence anymore, she lowers back down to the dragon's tail, wand out, watching the slow flicks of the dragon's scales with a careful precision that tells Kaito she is good at her job.

"I'm Kaito," he says, as an introduction, "and I know I shouldn't be here, but do you mind if I watch?"

Her eyes flick to him for the shortest time, weighing up his sincerity, before she nods. She says, "you can stay until th' alarms bring someone to escort you out."

Kaito raises an eyebrow.

"…And I'm Kazuha. Now lemme do my job, okay?"

He nods. And he watches. She brings her wand up, and with a flick, mutters _incisura_. Kazuha has to use the spell four times on the same scale, before the cuts leave it loose enough for her to pry it out from between the other ragged scales. The dragon lets out a growl.

"She's just bein' moody," Kazuha says, as she places the scale amongst the bucket of others, "because she wants this to be quicker, ya know?"

Kaito nods, although he doesn't really understand. He's not spent enough time around them to understand the complexity of a dragon, and so – well, it's probably best to just take the professional at her word.

"The scales," Kaito says, "what will you do with them?"

Perhaps it's too much of a conversation changer, because Kazuha stiffens, caught off guard by his question.

"We dispose of them," she says once she's back on balance again. She continues pruning the unhealthy scales, placing them among the others. "Sometimes the apothecaries buy them, but they've stopped recently, because there's not a high enough demand for scales."

Well, Kaito thinks, now he knows where he _could_ buy some scales.

"Everything has it's uses," Kaito says. And then, looking up at the dragon, he lets out a small sigh. "I'd be able to find a use for them at least."

Kazuha stills. She says, "that's why you're here, isn't it? To take advantage of my dragons? To steal from them."

Oh dear. Kaito seems to have walked straight into that one _._ He just needs to rework it a little bit.

"You don't steal from dragons," he says, reaching forward to brush his fingers against the dragon's scales. It's rough enough that it cuts into his hand, leaving a small dribble of blood running down his wrist as he lifts it up. "They only let you take what they have no need for."

He grabs his wand – his _first wand_ – and mutters the healing spell _episkey,_ to close the small cut. After, with a small wave of his wand, he siphons the blood away with a wordless spell.

"Right," Kazuha says. "Well, if all you're here for is dragon scales, then take them and get out."

"Hey now," Kaito says, lifting his hands up in surrender, "you said I could watch. I like dragons okay. And as much as I'd like having some scales to experiment with, I'd rather just observe the dragons."

He does not mention that learning how to gather scales of his own will be much more useful in the long run, than simply taking the scales now and having no idea of how to prune them if he goes looking for wild dragons later.

"I guess I said ya could stay until security came…" Kazuha says, shrugging. "But you do know… it's the Aurors that escort you out, right? Not our staff?"

Kaito offers a small smile. "Well. That'll be interesting, I suppose?"

It will not. It most certainly will _not_ be interesting at all. He'd only left the auror's station behind no less than an hour ago and he's already going to have them looking at him again.

Oh, the KID half of himself is raging already. Aurors and the ministry are on his 'things to avoid' list. Which, quite frankly, is quite short, consisting of only those two things, and merfolk.

"Startin' to wish you'd taken the scales an' just gone?" Kazuha asks.

"not yet," Kaito says, "but I will be when they show up. Probably. Don't worry about me though, keep going."

Kazuha grumbles but continues anyway. She has a way with dragons that is almost mystic. Maybe this could have been him, in her place, helping dragons with maintenance and ensuring they remained healthy.

What a shame, that it isn't.

"Why would you want dragon scales anyway," Kazuha asks, as she continues removing them. Some of the scales are harder than the others, tougher, requiring five repeats to break away from the others. "There's not really any use for them."

Kaito glances at the scales and shrugs his shoulders. A little honesty couldn't really hurt, could it?

"I'm an inventor," Kaito says. "I like creating things from seemingly impossible equipment and ingredients."

Kazuha looks at him. "Create anythin' interestin' recently?"

"A spray," Kaito says, sitting back, "which makes people admit to the truth when asked questions. It was pretty interesting."

"It was also illegal."

 _Oh,_ Kaito thinks, that's not Kazuha's voice. He groans, turns to face the Auror who has made himself known.

Should have expected that Kudo would be the one sent out. The man he'd offered a small wave to before, the dark-skinned Auror stands beside him, glancing towards Kazuha.

"Just because something's illegal, doesn't mean it can't be interesting." Kaito chirps. "I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon, Auror Kudo."

The dark-skinned detective lets out a sigh. "Kuroba Kaito right? You've been caught trespassing in one of the restricted areas of the dragon sanctuary without any formal permissions. We're going to have to take you back to the office for you to sign the relevant paperwork."

"Oh," Kaito says. "Can't you just owl it to me, like you would anyone else?"

He supposes it's his surname that causes such treatment. And his record of moving from country to country – they probably don't trust him to stay in one place. Which… is fairly understandable.

"Kuroba," Kudo says, shaking his head, "this is the second time you've been caught doing something illegal, so procedure says we've got to take you in for the paperwork."

 _Procedure._ What a horrid word when used in conjunction with the _law._

"This seems horribly unfair," Kaito says, glancing back at the dragon, "I just came to see some dragons. People usually just get _warnings,_ Auror Kudo. I mean, this hardly seems fair."

"You left our offices an hour ago!" Kudo sighs, "this is the second time today I've caught you doing something you shouldn't be doing!"

Beside him, Kazuha lets out a small giggle. Kudo's eyes cut to her, almost scalding, but she doesn't react to his exasperation. She says, "jeez, you're going to be trouble, aren't you?"

Kaito offers her his brightest smile.

"Just go with 'em," Kazuha says, "you can have th' scales if you do."

He perks up, smile brightening even more so. It's not quite the dragon blood he arrived looking for, but it's a start. And then: "can I have the dragon egg shells as well?"

"Don't push your luck."

* * *

 _The author loves feedback!_


	3. Chapter 3

Notes: _A quicker update this time! Hopefully the next will be as quickly as well! :D_

* * *

So here Kaito is.

Back in the same, mundane interrogation room, wrongly accused and feeling overly stuck, once again, in the grey. The only difference between this attempt at policing, and the previous, is that instead of having Mouri sat next to him, Kudo has the dark skinned Auror – Hattori – instead.

They seem like a much more comfortable partnership. Good for them.

Maybe Kaito would feel happier for the Aurors if they weren't currently staring him down, trying to figure him out. Arrested, _again,_ simply because he'd been somewhere he wasn't allowed?

He understands there's some sort of point behind this, something hinting at justice, but a faint irritation builds at him as he realises that this isn't _just_ two aurors finishing up their jobs. There's also prejudice here, no matter how unconscious it might be.

"I was just in pursuit of some dragons." Kaito says, repeating what he'd already told them at Mt. Fuji. "And I thought inside the caves, I'd be able to see them."

Hattori's expression is stern. He says, "there were alarms. One of which ya got past without triggerin' a response in. Tha' doesn't seem suspicious to ya?"

Kaito shrugs. "The dragons get cold easily, you know, since they're cold blooded reptiles. My best bet to see them, was to go in the caves."

Crossing his arms, Kudo narrows his eyes. "And you snuck past the alarm to see them. Is that right?"

"How do you know I'm not just cold blooded." Kaito says, trying to keep the bite of a grin out of his voice. He's bored, while confined in a place like this, but he can make it a little more interesting… hopefully. "I mean, I'm not the kind of person to sneak into places."

Kind of a lie. Because of the whole Kaitou KID element to his life. But well, he doesn't really sneak even then, he sidles onto the crime scene, edges his way to what he's set out to steal.

Sneaking implies that there is something cowardly about the way he acts – and KID, _Kaito,_ is most certainly not a coward. No, there's an element of bravery behind every risk he takes. He is not the type to _sneak_ around.

"Right," Kudo sighs. "You're not cold blooded, Kuroba. You used some sort of cloaking spell."

"No," Kaito says, tilting his head. "I didn't. Look at my recent spells if you're really that curious."

They've already taken his wand back into their custody – searching it again for spells they'll never find – and Kaito lets out a sigh at their difficult expressions. They're not easy to read, these two aurors, which probably goes well for their professions. But Kaito can still read into their actions, it just takes a little longer. It's almost like reading a book in a foreign language – achievable, but it takes more time, requires a bit more thought to understand the deeper meanings.

Hattori's a little easier to read than Kudo, and so he's the one Kaito focuses on. And there, in the stiffness of his shoulders, is the feeling that he's been waiting to observe: Hesitation.

They've got nothing to so much as prove he's committed any crime. His wand offers no cloaking spell, no disarmed alarms with carefully planned out magic. The only new spells they've seen are completely legal, no damning evidence at all.

"You have," Kaito says "You've already looked at my spell history."

The aurors both seem nonplussed, until seconds later when they start to squirm. It's not obvious discomfort no, not anything that would be quickly picked up on by people not accustomed to observing human emotion.

"We've looked into the spell history," Kudo says, "and we've decided we'll give you the opportunity to confess now."

Right – well, Kaito's not an idiot.

He knows they've got nothing on him. People don't go asking for confessions when they can force one out by throwing evidence at them. Aurors don't work like that, and he _knows it._

"There's nothing to confess," Kaito says, crossing his arms. He bites into his cheek at the patronising looks he receives, "so if there's nothing you can charge me with, I'd like to leave, thank you."

Clears his throat, Kudo lets out a sigh. It drags, almost as if it pains him to admit they've got no evidence on Kaito, nothing to keep him in their custody.

"You're good to go," the auror bites out, at last.

* * *

"Why is it," Nakamori Aoko says, as she opens her door, waving Kaito in through the threshold, "that you're always late! I cooked dinner for an hour ago!"

Kaito offers a small smile, with a hesitant apology behind his eyes. He knows she'd spent hours cooking, favouring the mahonashi method, using no magic but that of her hands as she prepares the dish.

Coming from a family without magic, Kaito can't blame her for enjoying the process. Aoko had forced him to cook with her once, when she'd invited him over last, and it had proven to be a highly relaxing process.

"Sorry, sorry." Kaito says, lifting his hands up in surrender. "I've had a fairly full day."

Aoko tilts her head, watches as Kaito replaces his shoes with slippers. It's another non-magical ritual her family follows, a culture that Kaito doesn't really understand but follows anyway, out of respect for her customs.

She's taught him a lot, in the time they've been friends, Kaito thinks. Between her and her father, they're the closest thing he has to a family.

"I bet your day hasn't been as busy as you think," Aoko says, shaking her head. "You're just constantly distracting yourself!"

She sounds exasperated, but there's also the shy hint of a smile in her voice. As irritated as he can make her – once she'd sent a broom chasing after him with a rather high-level jinx to let out her frustration – there's also a part of her that continues to enjoy his presence.

Which is good, because Kaito had been worrying that his time abroad would have changed things between them, even minutely. They'd sent letters by owl, but there had always seemed more formal and he'd been worrying they'd drift apart.

"Ah," it's a small chuckle that reaches his throat, "it's not completely my fault today. I spent a lot of time in the auror's station."

At the piercing look she sends towards him, Kaito adds a quick, "due to no fault of my own. Obviously."

Aoko isn't an idiot, it's one of the reasons he loves her so much. She'd been the brightest witch in their class, and when she'd decided to go into training as a healer, she'd been in the highest tier as well. So, Kaito can see the understanding flash across her face within seconds.

"Not even back a few hours," she sighs, "and already they're making things difficult for you because of your surname. God, if I ever meet them, I'm going to jinx them so badly they'll be sent to the hospital."

Kaito lets out a small laugh. "Where you'll then have to treat them."

"Yes," Aoko says with a small nod, "it'll be very satisfying. But in the meantime, please don't get yourself into situations that'll catch the aurors attention. They're always looking for reasons to be cruel to you, you know that."

"Looking for too many reasons to arrest me," Kaito says. _Twice._ He's been arrested twice in one day, and maybe both had been his fault but he still has a right to be annoyed by it. "But yeah, I won't go looking for trouble, Aoko."

Another lie. Kaito's not only going looking for trouble, but he's taking a swan dive into disaster, hoping he can swim deeply into it's depths until he finds the _exact_ trouble he's looking for.

"Good," Aoko says, nodding. "Dad! Kaito's finally here, we can finally eat!"

A small resounding cheer from the other room leaves Kaito grinning.

* * *

"So you enjoyed your travels abroad?" Nakamori Ginzo – Aoko's father – says after they've eaten dinner, the three of them settling down in the small sitting room. "You were quite eager to go, weren't you?"

Kaito nods. He sits, leaning back against the wall, watching the two Nakamori's as they relax following their meal. There's not a lot of magical items in this house. Ginzo, Aoko's father, has no magical blood in his veins, and so Aoko tries not to overwhelm him with too much of the unknown.

"Yeah," Kaito says, "it interesting seeing how all the European and North American magical cultures are different to our own. Did you guys enjoy the postcards I sent?"

Aoko grins. "Of course, we did, they were wonderful! Although, added with all your letters, my neighbours now believe we have an owl problem around her."

She lets out a small laugh, shaking her head. Then, "did you bring me any souvenirs?"

Kaito stalls, offers a shrug and a half smile. He says, "all I've got on me are dragon scales."

While her father lets out a small bewildered _'dragon scales?',_ Aoko darts forwards, sitting as far close to Kaito as possible. He's used to this, her curiosity, and the movements that predate her questions, so he simply opens the shoulder bag he's stored the scales in and lets her peer inside.

Aoko takes one out before he can even blink.

It reflects the light in a way that makes the room seem even lighter than it is. It almost shimmers, and Aoko looks at the scale with an almost awed look, before turning back to show her father.

His awe holds uncertainty in it, but it is equally as perplexed.

"Where did you get the scales from?" Aoko asks, almost breathless, when she turns back to face him. "They're magnificent. Which dragon are they from?"

Kaito takes the scale back, runs his hand down it. Unlike with the mother dragon earlier, when he smooths this scale, it doesn't leave him bleeding. He says, "Mt. Fuij, there was a Ukrainian Ironbelly that was having her scales maintained. It's not from abroad or anything."

Aoko tilts her head and offers a smile. "Why not turn some of those scales into a little bracelet? It could be the souvenir you never got me."

Well – it would be a means of testing how durable the scales are before making any inventions of his own. If it means he can avoid making silly, minor mistakes on future projects, then, why not appease Aoko with it?

"Sure," Kaito says, "I'll see what I can do. I've certainly got enough of these in my bag, so why not?"

* * *

Across Tokyo, in the aurors office, Shinichi bites his lip.

He's been thinking about the arrests from this morning, the one's with Kuroba. He's pretty sure today is not going to be the last time that he'll see the wizard, and so the interactions with him weigh on his mind.

How exactly does a man walk past traps without logging the spells into his wand? One look at Kuroba's school records had shown him to be above average in his classes, but nowhere near strong enough at magic to perform wandless magic of this strength.

There's something hidden here, something he doesn't understand, and it _grates at him_.

"You still thinkin' about tha' Kuroba guy?" Hattori says, as he comes to join him at their desk. Their seats are opposite, with double tables, stacks of paper just high enough that Shinichi has to crane his head to see the Osakan.

"Of course I am," Shinichi sighs, crossing his arms. He leans back against his chair, staring down at the file that they've managed to salvage on Kuroba. It's got his school records, the files that have been sent from abroad – scarce, and not detailed enough due to the ministry's lack of extradition treaties. "He just irritates me."

"Of course he does," Hattori says, "he's slippery. People look at him expectin' trouble, 'cause of his family, so he's learnt how to avoid gettin' in trouble at all."

Shinichi shakes his head. "He's not learnt to avoid it, he's learnt how to _get away with it._ "

Now, he leans forward, looking at the photograph of Kuroba from his school days. It depicts him straight-faced, looking at the camera as it flashes. And then, since the photographs show the seconds following the photographs, he moves and offers a smile to someone past the camera.

Shinichi takes a moment to look at him. Tries to read the person in the picture.

It had been taken years ago, in his final year at Mahoutokoro. When he'd just turned eighteen. Different, seeing as it's six years old – he's not changed too much though. He's a little older, the blatant irritation in his shoulders have settled out and his eyes–

Wait. _His eyes._

"Hattori," Shinichi says now, "what colour were Kuroba's eyes?"

The Osakan lets out a small laugh, says, "please tell me you're not stuck thinkin' about his eyes."

Shinichi sends him a withering look. "I'm being serious. When we had him in the interrogation room, what colour were his eyes?"

Hattori breathes, "they were weird. A purple – lilac, I think?"

Shinichi nods to himself, "yeah, I thought so."

"What of it?" Hattori says.

Shinichi stands momentarily, drops his folder on the top of Hattori's desk, the page open on the photograph. He says, "so why, in this picture of him, are his eyes blue?"

* * *

 _The author loves feedback!_


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